Machine for rounding the edges of glass sheets



April 3, 192 1,665,040

W. OWEN MACHINE FOR ROUNDING THE EDGES OF GLASS SHEETS Filed April 81926 3 Sheets-Sheet l April 3, 1928.

1,665,040 w. OWEN MACHINE FOR HOUNDING THE EDGES OF GLASS SHEETS FiledApril 8 1926 s Sheets-Sheet 2 zr 7 J k 62 1 v INVENTOR April 3, 1928.

1,665,040 W. OWEN MACHINE FOR EOUNDING THE EDGES OF GLASS SHEETS FiledApril 8 1926 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Jf f}. 3

1 14 I. i I W i INVENTOR Patented Apr. 3, 1928.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM OWEN, F PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR T0 PITTSBURGH PLATEGLASS COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

MACHINE FOR RDU'NDIHG THE EDGIES OF GLASS SHEETS.

Application filed April 8, 1926. Serial No. 100,852.

The invention relates to machines for rounding the edges of sheets, suchas the glass sheets used in automobile wind shields and bodies. ()ne ofthe most successful n achines for doing this work comprises a series ofwheels of abrading material placed in alignment, one after the other,and each 3 having a plurality of circumferential grooves. A series ofplates 01' sheets correspending in number to the number of grooves inthe wheels is carried over the wheels and round the edges of the plateson a curve corresponding to the curve of the grooves. @ne of theobjections to this machine is the rapid wear of the wheels, whichquiclrl alters the shape of the grooves so that t e wheels must beresurfaced to bring the grooves back to their'original contour.

This rapid wear is largely due to the unequal worlr imposed on thevarious portions of the surface of the grooves. Each sheet has two sharpcorner edges, which must be cut away before the main part of the edge ofthe sheet is brought into contact with the surface of the groove. Thesurface of the groove is, therefore, rapidly worn away by the glassalong the lines where the sharp corner edges of the sheets engage, sothat the groove loses its shape, and becomes more and more unsuited togive the glass edges their proper shape. The resent invention isdesigned to overcome this dificulty, by the addition of means whichrough 0d the sharp corners edges of the sheet before such edges reachthe rounded circumferential grooves heretofore r'eferred to, so thatsuch grooves are relieved of this work and caused to wear moreuniformly, thus increasing the life of the grooves many times over. Afurther.

object of the invention is to provide a roughing grinder for the edgeswhich is applicable as a unit to the multiple groove wheel type of edgemachine, and to provide a roughing means which is self-dressing, so thatsuch means requires attention only when comletely worn out. Oneembodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanyin drawings,wherein:

%igure 1 is a side elevation of a part of the machine. Fig. 2 is apartial plan view of the machine. Fig. 3 is a section on an enlargedscale on the line IIIIII of Fig. 1. And Fig. 4 is a section on the-lineIVIV of Fig. 1.

Referring to the -drawings, the framework of the machine is made up of ahorizontal plate or table 1, a series of vertical angles 2, 2, 2, etc,and longitudinally extending bracing members 3. Carried upon thisframework is a bridge comprising vertical members 4, 4, 4, etc., (Figs.1 and 4) braced by diagonal members 5 and carrying longitudinallextending guides 6 and 7, the latter guide being hollow and carrying theupper flight of the drag chain 8. This drag chain passes around a pairof sprockets 9, 9 at the ends of the framework, only one of suchsprockets being shown. This chain is driven in any suitable manner, andits lower flight is supported upon the top of the table 1, as indicatedin Fig. 3.

The machine is designed to round the edges of six sheets of glass 10,10., 10, etc, as indicated in Fig. 3, although this number may be Variedto meet requirements. The sheets are placed upon the machine at theright hand end (Fig. 1) and dragged along over the abrading wheels bythe lower flight of the chain 8, such chain being provided at intervalswith the transverse members 11 (Fig. 3). These members have downwardlyprojectmg lugs 12 secured to the chain 8 and also a pair of fingers 13,13 fitting over a guide flange 14 on the table 1. The other ends ofthese members rest upon a guide 15 at the other side of the table, andintermediate the ends of the member are the fingers 16, 16, 16, etc.,fitting between the sheets of glass and supporting them. These lingersproject backwardly, as well as forwardly, as indicated in Fig. 1, so asto space and support the sheets of glass to the rear of the member aswell as those in front of it. A second set of spacing and supportingmembers 17, 17, 17, etc., is carried by the guide member 8, such membersbein dably sup ported upon such guide an having forwardly and rearwardlyprojecting fingers similar to those on the members 11. These members 17serve to support the upper portions of the sheet, thus maintaining themin vertical position and at a proper distance Eli apart and being movedalong ,by the glass 7 sheets themselves.

The roughing away of the edges of the sheets is accomplished by means ofthe plurality of pairs of cup grindin wheels 18, 19, 18, 19, etc., sixpairs of 1: ese wheel:

incense In operation, the plates are mounted upon the rollers 20, 20,insets of siX with the members 11 and 17 in engagement therewith asindicated in Fig. 1 the fingers of such 5 members lying between theplates and holding them in proper spaced relation. The driving of thechain 8 in the direction indicated by the arrows causes the members 11to carry the series of plates over the sets oat grinding Wheels 18 andl9 and each sheet has its lower edge acted upon by one of the pairs oi?Wheels so that when the sheets have been carried past this grinding unithy the drag chain, their corner edges are iicveled away, and only aslight amount oi? :turther grinding action is supplied by the series ofwheels 51 whose grooved grinding surfaces give the slice the desiredcontour, after which they over a suitable polishing Wheel ozt similarcontour. The work iinposed upon the grinding wheels 51 by this operationis relatively slight, so that these wheels may he used :tor a longperiod oat time "without any requirement for redressing the grooves. Thesets of grinding wheels 18 and hear the brunt of the grinding action huthy reason oi the fact tl'iat their grinding edges are sell dressingfthewheels have a relativ ly long: life, the only attention which thisunitrequires being the vertical adjustment the Wheels from time to time,heretoitore descrihed in oi'derto compensate wear of the wheels. M Y atl claim nachinc tor rounding the edges of Nets, comprising an ahradingwheel d with a plurality of circumferential grooves, a correspondingplurality of pairs bers of each pair of roughing wheels having; theiraxes of rotation oppositely inclined ohliquely to the plane of thesheets, so that I the face of one of each pair of roughing wheelsengages one of the corners at the edge of the sheet, and the other wheelof the pair engages the other corner at such edge of the sheet.

ll inail-hine for rounding the edges of olnssshoets, comprising anahrading wheel' s provided with a plurality of circun'iterential groovesa corresponding pluinlity' or pairs oi roughing Wheels, arranged inseries in staggered relation, in advance ol: the grooved Wheel, andmeans tor supporting and carrying a plurality of sheets of glass inparallel relation over the roughing wheels and then over the groovedahrading wheel, the nieinhers of each pair of roughing wheels havingtheir axes of rotation on opposite siees ot' the line oi travel 0 hesheet and arranged so thatthe cutting rface oft one of each pair ofroughing" heels engages one of the c iers at the edge of the sheet andthe cutting surface of the other Wheel of the pair engages the othercorner at such edge of tee sheet.

in testimony whereof, l have hereunto sunscrioet'i my name this 12th dayof March, 1926.

